A Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes - A Review of the newest Hunger Games book
By: Jack Denney
In 2012, The Young Adult thriller “The Hunger Games” was presented on the big screen, where it took fans' hearts immediately. Fast forward a decade later, and the first three books have been adapted into movies, and all have been major successes. However, once the final movie came out in 2015, fans were immediately thirsty for more, and author Suzanne Collins answered their prayers with a book in 2020, dubbed: “A Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes.”
I have read every piece of fiction that correlates with the Hunger Games series and have watched every movie. With The Hunger Games being released to Netflix recently, and a teaser being presented, fans are getting hype for the movie adaptation of “A Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes” which releases this November. And today, I will be rating the book on four main points on a rating scale out of ten: the plot, the action, the style, and the characters. These ratings are completely subjective, and will almost undoubtedly have some disagreements. However, disagreements are the foundation of conversations, so if you disagree, please let me know!
For some context, A Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes is a tale that takes place 64 years before the original Hunger Games storyline and follows the infamous President Snow before his tyrant reign. 18-year-old Coriolanus Snow comes from a long lineage of grandeur, where in the Capitol, the name Snow holds great power; exponential power. However, his once lavish lifestyle is turned completely upside down as the country of Panem is split into thirteen districts, and the overruling Capitol. After the war, he is left with no parents, no money, and no friends.
Even though Snow has experienced hardship, he finds himself in a unique position as a student of the Academy to return to real power and escape attempting to look powerful and make it a reality. In the 10th annual Hunger Games, the Capitol finds itself in a pickle. The people in the districts despise the Games, and even the people in the Capitol don’t pay much attention to them. With the Capitol grasping for straws, they procure an idea. Students of the Academy will act as mentors for each tribute, with the winning mentor-tribute duo taking away a nice prize, and for Coriolanus, that means a ticket out of poverty and a slingshot back to real power in the Capitol. Now with the overview done, we can move on to the real importance of this story; my ratings.
Movie Poster for the “Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes”
Plot: 9/10
The plot of the book is fantastic and is split into three different sections. Learning more about Coriolanus Snow throughout this book was truly fascinating, and it was very cool to see some parallels from the previous three books, although they are all set decades in the future. Snow is a self-righteous man who resides in eternal hatred for the districts, and for the rebels who killed his father. During his whole life, he had been taught that the districts are below the Capitol, and he exemplifies it throughout all phases of the book. As the book went on, Snow became my favorite character in the entire series due to his cunning nature and willingness to do whatever it takes to reach the top. It is difficult to talk about most of the plot due to spoilers, but the plot was extremely exciting and made it hard for me to put the book down. A lot of this book follows Snow’s thoughts rather than action or dialogue, so it will be interesting to see how it plays out on the big screen. I would give the plot of this book a 9/10, taking off one point because I feel like the ending was somewhat rushed, and it could have provided more context for the 60-year gap between the next time we are reintroduced to the Games, in terms of storyline. The book is also extremely detail-based, so depending on what you like, this could either improve or decrease your own personal rating.
Action: 10/10
This book is action-packed, and will easily have people on the edge of their seats once it's adapted into a movie in November. Although not every single moment involves fighting, nearly every moment involves some amount of suspense, and when those two combine, it created some of my favorite moments of the entire series. It is difficult to include some parts of the action in this review without spoilers, but even as a mentor, Snow is extremely exposed to violence throughout the games, and then even more after he is done mentoring. I would give the action in this book a 10/10 because there was a lot of surprising action that would literally make my jaw drop, and the other action was just so suspenseful I could feel my hands sweating while reading. This book is very gory and goes in depth of violence so if that isn’t for you, I would recommend steering away from this book.
Style: 10/10
It is written from a third-person perspective like the rest of the books in the series, but it exclusively focuses on Corionalus Snow and his thoughts and actions. I am extremely interested to see how it is developed onto the big screen because of this reason. The book seamlessly transitions into each new phase of the book, and will easily entrance you into the storyline as if you’re a part of it and living in the same world as Coriolanus Snow. I also enjoyed the aspect of the book being split up into three different parts, because it almost felt like I was reading three different stories, all while making sense simultaneously. I would rate the style a 10/10 because I felt like a part of the story the entire time, and each chapter ended with a cliffhanger, leaving me wanting more.
Characters: 8.5/10
The characters in this book were great even though it was primarily centered around Snow. I can already foresee people taking an immediate love with Snow’s tribute from District 12, Lucy Gray, who is eerily similar to Katniss Everdeen. And I can already see the people who are sympathetic to the districts enjoying one of Snow’s best friends in the story; Sejanus Plinth. Although there are not as many characters to latch onto as in the original three books, Snow is already a fan favorite, and I am sure those who despise him will surely admire his cunning and ironically funny character. I would rate the characters in this book 8.5/10 due to the fact that there is not much variety, but Snow makes up all 8.5 points because he is truly a unique character out of all the pieces of fiction I have ever read. I think by the time this film comes out, Snow will win over many hearts and will become one of the most beloved characters in all of fiction.
Final Rating: 9.4/10
I deeply enjoyed this book. It is a bit long but its content makes up for it with nonstop suspense and action. My final rating is a 9.4/10 giving it a very good final rating. I recommend this book for all Young Adult readers, outside of people who don’t like gore. I deeply enjoyed this book; it was my second favorite in the series outside of Catching Fire. The movie comes out in November but the teaser was recently released, with a real trailer linked below! Read this book available in the media center and see the movie when it comes out!
Click here for the trailer!